Demon in the world

Boss Cai didn't do things for Wenren's family, just like Ah Jiu didn't want to leave Yudu. Probably everyone has their own insistence, so Ah Jiu didn't press on.

Ah Jiu made rapid progress. By the end of June, he was able to accurately distinguish the best ingredients by touch and smell with his eyes closed, and he was able to describe their origin, freshness, taboos, and relative characteristics.

Boss Cai was not satisfied with this point, and even took him to pastures, farmland in the suburbs, and forests. He believed that in order to maximize the value of ingredients, we must first have a better understanding of their growth environment and details.In Ah Jiu's eyes, he is now like a mobile living encyclopedia: from raising livestock to living in the wild, from climate change to geographical environment, identifying poisonous weeds and planting plants, he can know everything by heart.

Ah Jiu has not cooked a dish until now, because Boss Cai said that a person who has no common knowledge of ingredients is not qualified to enter the kitchen.

In mid-July, Ah Jiu was finally allowed to enter the kitchen to study. After seeing Boss Cai's ten categories of knife skills of "cutting, slicing, chopping, chopping, dissecting, arranging, spinning, gouging, patting, and jerking", he was once again admitted to the kitchen. shocked.

Boss Cai said: "If a craftsman wants to be good at his work, he must first sharpen his tools. Different ingredients need to use different knives. A good kitchen knife must be odorless, non-toxic, tasteless, wear-resistant and suitable for the hand, because it needs to be directly used for a long time. When touching ingredients, you must use the most stringent requirements to choose them. Kitchen knives made of different materials have different hardness, and different knives should be used when cutting different ingredients. Don’t rush to learn how to cut vegetables. I will teach you how to choose a knife and sharpen it first. knife."

After Ajiu silently ground three kitchen knives with bluestone, Boss Cai nodded and agreed to continue to the next step.

"Look good, first of all, stand upright, keep your feet apart naturally, keep your center of gravity stable, and don't bend your waist to avoid hunchback during long-term work. When cutting things, the four fingers of your left hand should be spread out to hold the ingredients. The first joint of your fingers should be bent inward to prevent being caught. For cutting, the second joint is used to control and measure the distance between the kitchen knife and the ingredients. The fingering is agile and fast, and moves as quickly as possible following the rest of the ingredients. Holding the knife in the right hand should be stable and flexible, and the strength should be controlled on the wrist rather than the arm .” Boss Cai handed him the knife, “Practice first.”

Ah Jiu took the knife, and made virtual cuts on the empty chopping board for a whole month, so much so that her wrist throbbed with pain when she slept at night.

Boss Cai gave him two plasters, but Ah Jiu kept putting them under the pillow to no avail. He always felt bound by something wrapped around his wrist, making it difficult to control his strength.

"That's because you don't have enough skill." Boss Cai leaned against the door and lit a cigarette, his small eyes were dark and blurred. It feels like it has become a part of my own body."

Ah Jiu stopped, and said, "A part of my body?"

Boss Cai came over with a cigarette in his mouth, took the kitchen knife, took out another piece of meat from the refrigerator, and cut it into minced meat on his left palm while Ah Jiu was dumbfounded.

"like this."

"Fine... amazing!" Ah Jiu took the minced meat and asked in disbelief, "Master, can I be like you in the future?"

Boss Cai washed his hands and said, "It depends on how much you pay."

Ah Jiu's eyes lit up immediately, "Thank you Master, I will definitely work harder!"

Boss Cai saw that he was burying his head wholeheartedly again, and walked away thoughtfully.

When Xiao Cai came back from school, she tiptoed to look at the empty chopping board and Ah Jiu who was sweating profusely, and asked curiously, "There is nothing, Brother Ah Jiu, are you cutting the air?"

Ah Jiu put the kitchen knife out of Xiao Cai's reach, and pushed him out to wash his face, but he couldn't find Boss Cai anywhere.

Xiao Cai said: "Don't look for it, I saw him sitting in the park in a daze when I got out of school."

"Ah, are you still doing business today?" Ah Jiu asked.

Since accepting Ah Jiu as an apprentice, Boss Cai seems to have put all his attention on him, taking him around all day long, and the noodle shop is also closed every three days.

Ah Jiu blamed herself: "It's all my fault, causing Master to worry all day long."

Xiao Cai said: "It has nothing to do with you, he does this every year at this time, because in half a month it will be the anniversary of my mother's death."

Ah Jiu suddenly said, "Well, what kind of person is the teacher's wife?"

Xiao Cai said sullenly: "I don't know, she passed away when I was very young. But you must not mention this in front of Dad, it will be terrible if he gets angry!"

Ah Jiu took a glass of water to drink, and said to herself: "No wonder Master has spoken very little these two days..."

"Where is Brother Ah Jiu going? Play with me for a while."

"I will practice sword skills for a while, you can play by yourself first, pay attention to safety."

Xiao Cai poked his head into the kitchen to have a look, shook his head and said, "No wonder Dad likes you, if only I could share some of your hard work with me, I don't have to fail every exam."

In September, Ah Jiu was already able to handle the knife proficiently, and he was also able to cut the shredded potatoes neatly.

Within three months, Xiaoman came here more than a dozen times, each time carrying a lot of gifts. Boss Cai was so angry that he had nowhere to vent his anger. As soon as he came, he left the noodle shop by himself and didn't come back until late at night.

While waiting, Xiaoman sat on the chair at the door and chatted with Ah Jiu who was practicing the knife across the wall.

After learning that Ah Jiu is now Boss Cai's apprentice, he sighed with emotion for a long time.

Xiao Man said meanly: "I can't see that he is still so insightful, I thought he was going to keep his ability and take him to the coffin."

Ah Jiu answered him like a repeater, "Boss Cai is a good man."

Xiao Man sneered, "He's your master, of course you say he's good, have you seen how he treats me? The whole master who doesn't like anything, I've spent so much effort trying to please him, I'm all meat buns beating dogs gone."

"What you give is not what Master wants, and you can't give what he wants, Brother Xiao Man."

"Yo, you're even getting into philosophy, so tell me, what does Cai want?"

"Master, please be quiet." Ever since his mother's death, Boss Cai has been more silent and depressed than before. At this time, Xiaoman came to harass him, which is really a bit unkind.

Xiaoman was not happy, "What are you talking about? He will not be quiet when I come here? Do you know what job I introduced to him? Working with the prince's grandfather, what a wonderful thing you said , why can't he think about it!"

Ah Jiu was puzzled: "There are so many chefs in the world, why do you insist on master going?"

Xiaoman lazily said: "There are two reasons, one is because of his good craftsmanship, and the other is because the other party has appointed him."

"Then why didn't he come by himself, but entrusted Brother Xiaoman to you?"

These words seemed to hit Xiaoman's sore spot, and he paused for a long time before he said quietly: "Do you think I'm not abusive and like being scolded by others? It's not because of the prince..."

His voice was very low for the last sentence, but Ah Jiu still heard it through the wall, and immediately ran out and asked, "What's wrong with the prince?"

Xiao Man raised his eyebrows, "It has nothing to do with you what the kids ask around."

Although what he said was the truth, Ah Jiu was hurt by this sentence. Thinking of Wen Renchu's indifferent 'this joke is not funny', he panicked.

Seeing his disappointed face, Xiaoman asked tentatively, "Why, do you still think that the crown prince is your elder brother?"

Ah Jiu said: "He was originally."

Xiao Man stood up, a full head above him, and squinted at Ah Jiu condescendingly, "Stop dreaming, go play with your knife."

When he left the noodle shop, a stubborn voice came from behind, "He is really my brother!"

A little ghost from the countryside dared to associate with the prince, not to mention it was unreliable, even if it was true, no one would admit it, and no one would dare to take it seriously.

Xiao Man raised the corners of his mouth, revealing a sarcastic smile.

Boss Cai still came back very late, with a smell of drunkenness on his body, Ah Jiu took out a pear peel from the refrigerator for him to eat.

Boss Cai leaned on the chair and clutched the pear, "Ah Jiu..."

"Master, what's the matter?"

"Do you like what you're doing now?"

"like."

"why do you like it?"

Ah Jiu thought for a while, and said: "I can't say it, but seeing that I am improving every day, I am very happy, and I also want to become as good as Master."

Boss Cai smiled, "Do you know what the happiest thing about being a chef is?"

The happiest thing, Ah Jiu guessed: "It's the cooked food being eaten up."

Boss Cai waved his hand, "Wrong, it's cooking for someone you like."

Ah Jiu thought for a while, he cooked for Sheng Hua and Kong Xiang every day on the mountain, but he didn't seem to feel particularly happy!But looking at Boss Cai's mysterious smile, it didn't seem like he was joking.

Cook for the person you like...cook for the person you like...brother? !Ah Jiu's eyes suddenly lit up.

Boss Cai whispered to himself: "She is sitting quietly at the dining table, waiting for you to bring out the cooked meals, watching her eat deliciously, and I feel as satisfied as if I have the whole world in my heart, that is your life. The happiest thing...it's a pity that my happiness will never come to an end in this life."

He must have thought of his wife, right?Seeing that he was very drunk, Ah Jiu fetched a blanket to cover him, and sat on a chair with her chin resting on her back, thinking hard.He thought to himself: "If I am as good as my master and can cook the most delicious food in the world for my brother, will he recognize me then?"